


Parent is a Verb and a Noun

by ArcticTurtle



Category: Star Trek
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Okay so it's not quite Parenthood. Sue me., Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-22
Updated: 2013-08-22
Packaged: 2017-12-24 07:54:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/937464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcticTurtle/pseuds/ArcticTurtle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Parent: n. One who begets, gives birth to, or nurtures and raises a child; a father or mother.</p><p>Parenting: v. To act as a parent to; raise and nurture.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Parent is a Verb and a Noun

**Author's Note:**

> Un-beta'd. The paragraphing is probably terrible. Sorry.

The bridge of the Starship Enterprise was hardly busy, but Chekov was still inquiring at the Captain’s chair, putting forward some idea or other he’d had. Jim replied positively, smiling warmly at the young man and motioning him gently back to his seat.

“Come on, you have to admit it’s adorable.” Bones walked up behind Jim, his arms folded as he watched Chekov practically skip back to his station. Jim turned to his friend, oblivious as always.

“What’s adorable?”

Bones didn’t feel at all surprised that Jim hadn’t noticed a thing, but he still commented scathingly.

“You mean haven’t noticed how he acts around you?” And Spock the doctor added silently, but he didn’t mention that little observation.

“How he… What are you talking about?” Now Kirk looked almost offended that his friend had pointed out something that he himself couldn’t grasp. Bones suppressed a chuckle. He could have described word for word the way his old friend would react to his comments, but it was somehow even more amusing to watch it play out in front of him. But still he didn’t allow himself to look entertained. Couldn’t ruin the effect now, could he?

“You know, how whenever you praise him he acts like he just got a puppy for his birthday?” Now slight understanding broke across Jim’s face, but his answer went totally in the wrong direction.

“I guess that’s just his age. Everyone appreciates a good word, right?”

Bones had to suppress a sigh. Could his friend be any more dense if he tried? Now he thought it, it was almost as though Jim was trying. Still, he persisted.

“And the way he always looks up expectantly whenever you come onto the deck… And how he stares adoringly at you – and Spock come to think of it…” Of course Bones had ‘come to think of it’ ages ago, but he thought the comment would be more likely to be not utterly rejected if he said it off-hand. At the wide-eyes look Jim gave him at that particular sentence, however, the doctor was fairly sure it hadn’t helped at all.

“What are you saying…?” Jim’s tone was confused, but hesitant, like he had a guess at what his friend meant, but wasn’t sure about it. This was no longer fun and Bones rolled his eyes before finally making the point he’d been hinting at.

“I’m _saying_ that when he’s on board, you and Spock are practically Chekov’s parents.”

When people use the expression ‘it dawned on him/them/it’ it usually sounds somewhat pretentious, but Bones would not be lying when he described the look in Jim’s eyes as one where the sun had come up and he could see again. His voice, too, was full of realisation. “Oh…” 

Bones stared at him. “What, that’s it? ‘Oh’? Come on Jim, I’ve been chasing my tail trying to find a way to tell you this blatantly obvious fact without you biting my head off for it, and all you give me is _‘Oh’_?” He would have continued his tirade, but a calm, familiar voice behind him cut the medic short.

“Is there a problem?” 

Turning around, Bones wasn’t surprised to come face to face with Spock, the Vulcan’s head tilted ever so slightly to the side, his face a plain mask. Glancing back at Jim Kirk to find the Captain of the Starship Enterprise still sat half-limply with a look of pure realisation on his face, Bones plastered on a broad smile for his reply.

“Not at all. I’ll just leave you two to it.” With that he strode off to talk to a human being less thick that a brick wall.

~~~

Spock was left with a lingering feeling of confusion. Doctor McCoy had certainly sounded a degree annoyed, but he had seemed in good enough spirits when he left. Perhaps Jim understood. He was certainly more likely to understand changeable human emotions, but Bones had never seemed the fickle type. 

“Captain,” the Vulcan began, but he was cut short by Kirk’s bemused question.

“We aren’t exactly his dads, though, are we?” the way Jim spoke suggested that he hadn’t even registered that Spock had been attempting to ask him a question first, and his words made no sense to the first officer.

“I’m sorry sir, but I don’t seem to understand your query,” Spock’s response may have been more akin to a computer program than a living organism, but it didn’t matter, as Jim – again – didn’t appear to have heard him.

“Hm?” the captain glanced up at Spock, then rolled his eyes in uncalled for exasperation. “Chekov, Spock, Chekov!” Glancing at where the said person was seated at the console, Kirk dropped his voice slightly, “We’re practically his parents.”

Spock tilted his head at a greater angle. “I don’t understand your usage of the word ‘parents’. Parents are the male and female organisms that combine to create an offspring. I don’t see how we are that to Chekov.”

“No, no, you don’t understand!” Kirk seemed impatient, and didn’t even bother to acknowledge that Spock disliked being told he didn’t understand anything, merely carried on, “He acts as though we’re his dads.”

Understanding flooded through Spock’s brain. “Ah, so you mean the way we interact is the way parents do towards their children, and vice-versa.”

“Exactly,” Jim grinned but then the smile faded as he thought more on the subject, “Wait, what are we going to do about it?”

Spock narrowed his eyes slightly, “I don’t see why we should do anything about it. Surely it’s healthy for young humans to have parent figures.”

“You’re right,” the grin returned, and Spock answered it with a small smile of his own, and then turned away from his captain and returned to the algorithm he’d been examining. From across the bridge, Bones rolled his eyes.


End file.
